weedman

5 minutes ago, jacketspuds said:

Sounds like we're 15-0 down.

Well we don't seem capable of even getting shots on target atm so we may as well be really

1 minute ago, Danishlad said:

Would be good, but there are too many players. Doubt we would get away with it. They use var, nowadays

Var would spend 20 minutes counting the players before deciding to stick with the referees decision (unless one of the 12 players had a shoelace offside ofc) 

To everyone moaning about the lineup, aside from Elmo for Guilbert that's our strongest available team isn't it? 

Can't be complaining that Taylor plays when Targett is injured, Trez and AEG are much the same. What other options do we currently have? 

5 minutes ago, Robtaylor200 said:

It's on Amazon prime (if you get that) sure to be repeated

I have Prime in the UK but most things are location locked so doubt I'd be able to watch the repeat

I'm sure there will be full match replays about but it's finding them without finding out the score I'm worried about lol

1 hour ago, AVTuco said:

Pukki making runs behind Engels and Hause doesn't sound too good. I'd start Konsa, he's a bit faster.

 

I'm a Smith fan but I don't understand his insistence on having a lefty and a righty together at CB. Sure, it's handy when it happens but it's probably the least important part of a CB partnership. Konsa is much better than Hause, he should be starting 

I know it's a little early to be asking, but I'm in Australia atm and this game kicks off at 2am so I'll be nicely tucked up in bed.

If possible I'd like to watch the game when I get up around 7/8am (8/9pm UK time) but no idea where to find a full game repeat, even less of an idea where to look without having the score ruined! I know there are fellow Aussie Villans around so I was hoping you'd have some wisdom for me!

Thanks in advance...UTV

7 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

Yup. It's always like that. City away for me.

Have we ever gotten an easy draw from the QF an on, if it was possible? 

The year we got to the final I remember us having a favourable run there. I know we had Blackburn in the semi which was definitely the easier game (and turned into an epic)

Might be better to play a big team now, a City or Liverpool as they will rest players in the next game they probably won't in the final or semi

2 minutes ago, andym said:

Very poor organisation for their goal, their player was clearly unmarked as both teams were lining up in the edge if the box. Heaton should be spotting that and sorting it.

Disallowed goal was a joke, a great finish by Hourihane

I had a tenner on villa to win and Hourihane to score anytime, so I'm seething at that decision

44 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

Funniest thing was when the commentator was counting down the stoppage time, saying we already played the 4 minutes when we only played 3

Then he realized his error and coolly played it off like he didn't.

It was when he'd been saying the whistle will blow as soon as the ball is cleared after the corner and had been non stop talking about it for nearly a minute when he went "well, 4 minutes was indicated and now we've played......3 and a half" then just went silent for a few seconds. You could hear the realisation hit him and it was hilarious

He was good overall yesterday, that goal was a comedy of errors all round though. McGinn played a hospital pass, Mings messed up the back pass volley and Heaton I can only imagine lost the ball in the sun hence his hesitation. If Heaton had seen that all the way he'd clear it easily

1 hour ago, BleedClaretAndBlue said:

Bardell said on latest pod that he heard he was left out on disciplinary grounds. Had been out drinking and uploaded on social media apparently. Unsure how true

Even Bardell was unsure if it was true, he was very clear that he was only speculating on what he'd heard, nothing definitive at all so no point jumping to conclusions until we actually know one way or another

15 hours ago, Junxs said:

We could always recall Scott Hogan if the need arises

2 hours ago, M_Afro said:

I totally agree with this. I have been amazed by how much this has changed during our time away. All the teams look bigger, faster and stronger than is in the centre of the pitch. We are going to have to be much better at keeping possession to compete. 

I agree too, the main thing I'm noticing since being back is that most players, especially in midfield, seem to contribute to multiple phases of play due to their athleticism, the games we've played we're not up against a defensive midfielder, or an attacking midfielder, it's a 2 or 3 man midfield that attack and defend when they need to, strikers seem to be involved across the front line and interchange with wingers regularly.

We haven't really had that but having seen Marvellous I actually think he could be the man that ties us together, he seems quite Kante esque with his mobility and strength on the ball (granted only that 1 game to go on) and I think with him + 2 from Grealish, McGinn, Luiz or Conor we could have a pretty dynamic midfield. If he's fit I'd like to see Marvellous, Grealish and McGinn all moving around that midfield because they're all athletic enough to attack and defend as needed and good enough to make things happen at either end as well.

PL football is far more intense than other leagues (even the Championship) and players need to adjust to that, figure out how much time they have (or don't have) on the ball and get into positions sooner to support other players. I think it'll come, from what I've seen of the players the talent is there, and I think they have the physical attributes to succeed as well, they just need to get up to speed quickly and until they do I think we'll continue to see some disjointed performances. I'm hopeful it'll all start to come together by about game 10 (we've seen glimpses already), if we can keep the points total ticking over until then I'm hopeful we'll be ok, and possibly even start to look up the table in the 2nd half of the season rather than down

2 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

Going for this beauty today!

What on earth is going on with those sleeves?!

6 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Either we dominated or Bournemouth decided to sit back after being 2-0 up so early.

Bit of both? But given the chances we've created I'd say it was as much us forcing them back as them choosing to. It's like us V Spurs, we didn't choose to sit back and defend, they forced us to. Obviously the difference between us and Spurs is far greater than the difference between us and Bournemouth so while they turned their good play into 3 goals, we only managed 1

But we're getting there I think, could do with getting those first points soon but we look miles better than Palace, Newcastle and Southampton already and I'm confident once we settle we'll improve, can't say the same for them so I'm still cautiously optimistic we can finish somewhere between 12th and 17th, and that must be seen as a successful season if it happens

14 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

The two bold points:

Firstly, aside from Spurs and Bournemouth, Elmo being 'one of our best players' is referencing him against Championship teams. That holds no weight for me now. Yes, the shirt is his to lose, but lets not forget that there have been plenty of games where he's not looked good enough against Championship opposition.

Secondly, I think it was reported that it was part of the deal that to sign Guilbert, we agreed to send him back on loan. They were in a relegation battle and probably wouldn't agree to sell and let one of their best players leave mid-season, without the agreement that he can go back and help them to survive the drop.

As for the 'clamouring', despite Elmo having a decent couple of games, he's still a fairly limited player. Before the start of the season, 90% of Villa fans had Guilbert in their starting eleven. Partly because we're all hoping that Guilbert is good enough, but also partly because of how limited Elmo is, as was evident in the Championship.

I, for one, feel like I saw more from Guilbert in pre-season (albeit against lesser opposition), in the way of pace, passing and workrate. His crossing seemed on a par with Elmo's, but again, the opposition was weaker, so that's hard to judge.

I won't be surprised if Elmo is still playing on Friday, and I won't be too disappointed because he has played well. But, would I prefer to swap Elmo's reliability and limited attacking ability, for Guilbert's youthful exuberance, pace, workrate and passing ability that I hope will come good in the Prem? - Yes. Sue me.

I agree with what you're saying, however you used the word "hope" a few times and that's the point, I'm as hopeful as anyone that he turns out to be good, and while he did look good in pre season I learned several years ago to pay no attention to them when I watched Gabby skip past 3 or 4 players with some lovely footwork and slot the ball home. When the season started he wasn't suddenly Messi, he was the same Gabby as always. The opposition and overall lack of intensity makes things much easier for everyone.

I too hope Guilbert turns out to be a star, but as we learned in the 1st two games we can't afford mistakes at the moment because we'll be punished. The pressure is huge right now and I am fully behind continuing Elmo (unless his performances drop) for now, once we've got a few points on the board and if (hopefully) we can get ourselves a few points clear of the drop then I'd be all for giving him a few games to see what he's got

The clamouring for Guilbert is weird to me. Elmo has been one of our best players since he came back into the team and hasn't put a foot wrong this season. If Guilbert was a starting PL quality RB why would he sign for us (a mid table Championship team at the time), amidst no competition, and once we managed to sign this quality of player, why would we subsequently loan him back to France for another 6 months?

Maybe he's simply not as good as we hope, and while is capable of being a backup (or even starter should we get relegated), he's just not ready for this league yet? I could understand people clamouring for us to play him if Elmo was doing terribly, but again, he's been one of our better players since coming into the team last season and that has continued into this one. Perhaps Guilbert will benefit from being a backup and getting the odd game here and there for his 1st season in England in arguably the toughest league in the world, and as long as Elmo continues playing well I don't see the problem with that

39 minutes ago, villarule123 said:

Thought he looked like Carlos Sanchez in the first half. Thankfully, improved a lot in the second. I did get nervous everytime he had the ball outside his own area, but hopefully he knew what he was doing. 

Agree 100%. When I was watching that first half I said he's just Carlos Sanchez, a technically good player but far too casual on the ball especially in dangerous positions. He improved 2nd half but there were still one or two moments where he slightly miscontrolled an easy pass and was nearly punished.

Unlike Carlos Sanchez I'm confident he'll improve this as he gets more used to the pace of the league. I want him to succeed mainly because of his hair

1 hour ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

Can only speak for myself, and the way I saw it the spurs defeder ran into his position or zonal area. McGinn lost balance charging forwards and ran into the spurs player. Then he was floored, as much by his own doing than anyone else. Think where others see the spurs player charging into McGinn, I see McGinn charging into the spurs player. 

Now even if the spurs player did something that was breaking the rules, it was very minimal. And in my opinion this is a contact sport where you can't go around giving cheap penalties. But that's just my POV. Not saying it's right. 

I agree, I don't think it was a pen, I'd have been livid if it'd been given against us.

The problem is it's one of those that you've seen given, and we're all naturally disappointed as we believe that if it had been the other way around it would have not only been awarded a penalty, but VAR and the pundits analysing the game would all agree because of the contact

10 minutes ago, privateer said:

Coach movement is vitally important, it sets an example to the players. Static coach, static players, everyone in football knows that.

So does anyone have any heat maps of Deano in a suit compared to track suit? I think they'll clearly show what he should be wearing to ensure a successful season. The heat maps don't lie.

You joke, but the way Sky is going I give it max 5 years before they actually do this. It'll be to prove a point about how passionate a certain manager is and they'll show a heat map of him prowling the technical area and compare it to the opposition manager who hasn't moved much from his seat and use that as an example of why Team A was so much more commited etc blah blah blah. It'd be a classic Sky Sports move